Return to Ivalice
by nono1
Summary: It's been twenty years since the events of Magic Ivalice. Now, another group of youths and their parents must restore the world to normal a second time. Chapter two up!
1. The New Heroes

**Chapter one – The New Heroes**

Bored.

That was the one word that could describe the way Serena was feeling right now. And she was feeling that way for several reasons: she was trapped in a cold schoolroom, with absolutely _no_ heating, with a half-witted teacher droning on and on, completely oblivious to the fact, that, out of twenty odd students, not one of them was listening to a word he said.

Serena put her arms down on the table, rested her head on them, and sighed. She was just about to doze off, when –

RRRIIINNNGGG!

Almost immediately, Serena's head shot up and she looked around. People were glumly picking up their books and leaving the classroom. Over at the doorway, she could see her best friend, Molly, waiting for her. She scooped up her books from her desk and got up.

As Serena approached the red-head, stumbling around the many tables and chairs, Molly smiled at her white-haired friend and said, 'Took you long enough.'

'Sorry,' she muttered, 'but I almost dozed off there. I swear Mr Smith gets more boring each day.'

'Yeah, yeah, let's just get going.'

When they were out of the school grounds, they bid each other farewell, and Serena started walking downhill to pick up her little brother and sister. When she had walked into the school halls, she walked over to the detention room and looked in. Her brother, Brendan, and some other kids were sitting there, all looking bored and unhappy.

Serena sighed, and thought that she way as well go and pick up her sister Tammy. It could take Brendan a while before he was let out of detention.

When she got to her sister's classroom, she looked through the window in the door and looked surprised at what was going on inside.

There were little kindergarteners who were either running around wildly chasing each other, drawing flowers and the like on the board, knocking off books on the shelves, or rummaging through the teacher's drawers, cabinets and desk.

Reluctantly, she turned the doorknob, opened the door, and walked in.

As soon as she took the first step inside, she immediately blocked her ears from the loud racket. She started searching for the teacher, when she found her hiding under the desk, looking very nervous.

'Excuse me,' said Serena, 'But do you know where a girl by the name of Tammy is?'

'Um, yes,' muttered the teacher. 'She's just running around the classroom right now.'

'O-kay,' Serena nodded, and looked around for Tammy. After a few seconds, she spotted her sister running around the center of the classroom. Serena started approaching her, and saying her name gently.

'Come on Tammy, it's time to go home,' she said softly, putting her sister's hand in her own.

'Aaawww, can't I stay one more minute,' whined Tammy frustratingly.

'No, Tammy,' said Serena firmly. 'Now, let's go. We still need to get Brendan.'

'Why didn't he come with you?' Tammy asked, once again, innocently.

'Brendan was um, he was, uh, um, ah, being a naughty boy! So, err, he had to go to a room, where all the naughty people stay after school for a bit! So, yeah, we need to pick him up!'

When they reached the room, nature started to kick in for Tammy.

'Aaww, I'm hungry!' moaned Tammy. 'Why can't we pick up Brendan later and eat now?'

Serena sighed. 'I'll go get you something sweet on the way back home, but don't tell Mum or Dad.'

'Oh, but I want something now!' complained Tammy.

'He will finish soon, so just wait a bit longer.'

'Okay,' Tammy grumbled.

Just then, the door opened, and the kids started flooding out of the room so quickly that Serena had to pull Tammy out of the way to make sure that she wouldn't get trampled by the many feet.

Last that came out was Brendan, who just walked at his own pace, his expression mild. His sandy hair was looking rather ruffled, his blue eyes dim, similar to the colouring of his father's own blue eyes and hair. Serena's green eyes came from her mother's side of the family, as did her hair. Tammy, on the other hand, had both her father's hair and her mother's eyes.

As they walked to leave the school, Serena decided to break the awkward silence, well, it wasn't really an awkward silence, butyeah, lets just call it that.

'Hi, Brendan,' said Serena, turning to her brother.

'Hi,' replied the boy in a dull voice.

'You look green,' said Tammy, giggling innocently.

'Well, what do you expect,' he muttered. 'You would be too if you were stuck in there with those creeps.'

'Wow, really!' she said excitedly. 'So all I have to do is be naughty and then I'll turn green, my favourite colour? That's great!'

Serena and Brendan both gave their sister weird looks.

'What have you done to her?' muttered Brendan to his older sibling.

'Hey, it's not my fault that she likes green!' said Serena as she opened the entrance door.

'Really? Then who was it who told her that green's the colour of slime? And slime's cool because it's squishy.'

'Uh, yeah, um, well that was just to, uh, reassure her!'

'Riiiiight.'

'Hey, it was!'

As they passed through the streets of St. Ivalice, the conversation continued very much like this – an argument of sorts. Remembering her earlier promise, Serena bought Tammy a lollipop from a store they passed by.

'You know, if Mum finds out about this, she'll go ballistic!' warned Brendan.

'Then don't tell her,' said Serena as Tammy happily sucked on her _green_ lollipop.

'Fine, I wasn't planning to anyway. What about Tammy, though? What if _she_ tells Mum?'

'Look, she may be five, but she's not stupid. She'll no not to tell, especially since she still remembers what happened last time.'

'Yeah, I guess so.'

Just after Brendan said those words, there was a loud crunching noise that was _very_ irritating. Both heads turned to Tammy. Serena sighed.

'Tammy, if you bite lollipops and lose a tooth, the tooth fairy won't give you any money,' lectured Serena.

Tammy looked down at the stick of her lollipop. 'Oops,' she said meekly.

Brendan sighed. 'Never mind. Hey, wait a second.'

The girls stopped. 'What is it?' asked Serena.

"I never knew there was a road here,' said Brendan, pointing out a street which Serena had never seen before, either.

'What is this street?' she asked, walking into the street a few steps.

'I don't know!' said Tammy loudly.

'It doesn't even have a sign with its name,' pointed out Serena.

'Do you wanna, like, explore it?' asked Brendan.

'Maybe, but…shouldn't we be getting home soon?' asked Serena.

'Mum and Dad won't be home until four-thirty, and Uncle Doned is still in hospital. Grandma is there looking after him,' He replied.

'And Mr Randell?' asked Serena.

'Who?' said Tammy.

'Mewt Randell,' replied Brendan. 'You know, that brown-haired man who comes over sometimes? Dad's best friend?'

'Oh yeah, Uncle Mewt!' exclaimed Tammy happily. Although Mewt wasn't really her uncle, she had called him that all her life. 'He's really nice. I like him.'

'Yes, I know you do,' said Brendan. 'But he's busy, too. Besides, as long as we come back home before our parents, they won't know what we did, right.'

'I don't – Brendan, wait!' Serena called as Brendan ran into the street.

'Come on,' he called, suddenly sounding very enthusiastic.

'But I – ' she cut off as Tammy ran off after her brother, 'Tammy!' She sighed. 'Fine, but only for ten minutes.' She said reluctantly. 'Hey wait up!'

**Chapter Two – the Gran Grimoire**


	2. The Grand Grimoire

Hiya peoples!

A note to Vampire Slushie: Yes, Marche did marry Ritz and have kids with her.

Author's note: They are in St Ivalice, not Magic Ivalice. Well here's Chapter two! R&R!

**Chapter Two – The Gran Grimoire**

A few minutes upon entering the grey, lifeless street, Brendan's excitement had faded quickly, but he was still walking quite fast. Serena was not far behind him, and poor little Tammy was having trouble keeping up.

There was nothing to see, really. Paint was peeling off the buildings, the wood of the doors chipped, and the tin roofs and walls had large cracks in them, the tiled roofs broken and in pieces on the ground. There was not another form of life there at all, save the many rats and stray cats.

'Do either of you feel that we should be getting back now?' asked Brendan.

Serena rolled her eyes and said, 'Oh, and I thought you were the one who said 'Come on, it'll be fun'! Right, Tammy? Tammy?'

Suddenly realising the fact that her sister was no longer beside her, the white-haired girl looked back and saw a small figure behind her, waving to them. Serena had almost panicked, but felt relieved to see her sister was alright.

'Tammy!' she called. 'What are you doing!'

But the younger girl didn't appear to hear her and was still running towards her older siblings. When she was very close to them, she immediately opened her mouth to speak.

'You run too fast!' whined Tammy. 'Too fast!'

'Tammy, what _were_ you doing over there?' inquired Brendan. 'You had us worried!'

'Sorry,' she murmured sheepishly, 'But you've _got_ to see what I've found!'

Serena piped in at this point. 'You found something? What, where?'

'Tammy, if it's a cat, we _can't_ keep it. So just let the poor thing go.'

'But it's not a cat, it's a book.'

Serena raised an eyebrow. 'A book? I thought you couldn't read. Besides, what would a book be doing around here?'

Tammy placed her hands on her hips. 'Oh, I don't know what it's doing here,' she said in a matter-of-fact voice. 'But the pictures are still cool!'

'I suppose we could see that book. Nothing better to do, anyway,' mused Brendan, walking over to them. He turned to his sister. 'What do you think, Serena?'

Serena thought for a moment. She wondered why Tammy was so interested in one book. Books never interested her much, either. Her uncle read a lot, but that was only when he was in hospital.

Then she thought of another issue. Her father and mother would be home soon, and the longer they stayed here, the higher their chances of being caught at home late. They couldn't afford to spend much more time here. But, then again, they could just take the book home and look at it later.

Her mind was made up. 'Fine, but mum and dad will be home soon. We'd better just take the book home and then look at it. That alright with you, Tammy?'

'Fine,' said Tammy, a little disappointed.

Tammy led them to an old building, pushing the wooden door. It opened with a creaking noise

'Looks kind of like…a book shop,' observed Brendan, looking at the rows upon rows of shelves. There wasn't much light, but there was enough to make out hundreds of books on them. The blond-haired boy picked up an old book from the floor, which had torn pages and a cover that was falling off.

'It must be a used book store,' said Serena, looking around. 'It's old, and the books don't have price labels on them.'

'I heard of this place, once,' said Brendan. 'Mr Randell said there was a store somewhere in town where he once bought an old book. He brought it back, though, he said it wasn't interesting. Now, it looks like the place is aband-'

'Here it is!' said Tammy, running to him and almost stumbling, most likely from the weight of the 'book' she was carrying in her hands. She held it out. 'This is the cool book!'

Serena took it and looked at it. The book looked old, older that any book she had ever seen. It had a hard, golden cover, and a sort of golden rope bound the two ends of the covers. The title of the book seemed to be written in some sort of ancient language, the figures unfamiliar to Serena.

She looked at Tammy. 'Tam, I think you've found something…'

Tammy looked excited. 'Really?' she squealed.

'Yes, now there is one more thing to do.' She added, like an afterthought.

'What's that?' asked Brendan.

'THAT WE NEED TO GET HOME NOW!'

The other two suddenly realised that they had only _ten minutes_ to get home. The next events passed like a blur; Serena stuffed the book in her schoolbag, Brendan dropped the novel he had been inspecting, and Tammy started to run as fast as her legs would allow, the other two following suit.

They arrived home eight minutes later, poor Tammy nearly collapsing from exhaustion, Brendan supporting her, Serena supporting him, and a _wall_ supporting Serena.

'Are…you two…alright,' she puffed.

'Yeah,' gasped Brendan, sweat dripping from his forehead. 'Not sure about Tammy, though.'

Tammy was on the floor, on her back, exhausted. Brendan bent down and helped her up.

'Okay,' he said, 'here's the plan: I'll take Tammy to the bath, and you hide the book somewhere.'

'BATH! But I don't wanna take a bath! Why can't I just take it tomorrow?'

'Tammy, that's what you said last week,' said Serena. 'You're taking a bath now.' It was an order, not a request.

'But I don't wanna!' she shrieked.

'You have to,' said Brendan coolly. 'Besides, you're covered in sweat! We can't have you like that, with or without our parents. Now, I'm taking you to the bath.'

Brendan picked her up and carried her, holding her around the mid-back and stomach. He had to endure all her arm flailing, kicking and screaming before he finally had her in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Serena went to her room, stuffing the book below her bed.

Just then…

'TAMMY! COME BACK HERE NOW, YOUNG LADY! WAIT! I SWEAR, I SWEAR, YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS! NEVER!' Brendan was charging down the stairs, chasing Tammy, who was both giggling and panicking at the same time.

Serena shook her head sympathetically. 'Poor Brendan. I pity him. Shame he doesn't have a twin brother to keep the raging banshee down.'

'SERENA, IF YOU DON'T GET DOWN HERE TO HELP ME THIS INSTANT, YOU'LL BE NEXT!'

Serena gulped. Brendan was usually a calm person, but when he was angry, he would probably scare the wits out of Satan himself.

'Tammy, if you just take a bath now, nobody will get hurt.' Serena hurried down to see Brendan looking down at his younger sibling, a desperate look on his face.'

While Tammy seemed to think this over, being the stubborn person she was, Serena heard a familiar voice:

'We're home!' it was their father, Marche Radiuju, followed by their mother, Ritz.

Tammy took this moment to run out of her brother's grasp, only to hit her father's stomach. She looked up at his face as her siblings entered the entrance hall.

'Um…hi, daddy,' she said nervously. 'I…I was just…'

'Why are you covered in sweat?' demanded Marche sternly. He looked up at his other children. Brendan was panting, and Serena looked like her usual self. 'And you two, as well.'

'Well,' said Serena, 'You see-'

Just then, Tammy gave Serena her un-rejectable puppy eyes. Serena tried to resist her, but, after a moment, gave in.

'…Uh, my, uh Teacher came late! So, um, uh, my class was held in abit so yeah."

Marche raised his eyebrows and sighed. He looked over at Ritz who sighed as well, "Well, if you say so, but on another issue, Tammy, you are going to take a bath _now_."

Tammy groaned. 'Can't I have it tomorrow?'

'No, Tammy. Now walk upstairs and take a bath _this-instant_.'

'No! Why can't I just have it tomorrow?'

'Because you haven't had a bath in a long time. Now, _come on_.'

Ritz picked up her struggling daughter, and carried her back upstairs. Marche looked at his two older children. 'Well, now that that's taken care of, I take it you've got some homework to do?'

'Um, uh…' Serena fell mute, trying to think up an excuse. 'Well, you see…Brendan did his in the library. And, um, I handed in all my homework early, and so they let me off!'

Serena cringed. Her father would _surely_ not believe _that_ pathetic excuse.

Marche raised his eyebrows yet again. 'Okay, first thing's first. Serena, since when did you hand your homework in _early_. The only time you hand your homework in is _at least_ two days late. And secondly, Brendan, in al my life I have not seen you go to the library _once_, even if you had to.'

Serena and Brendan were mortified. 'Um, uh, people change?' Serena felt like hitting herself over the head with a saucepan.

Marche shook his head. 'Okay, I'll let you do it tomorrow. But no more lousy excuses about it.'

Serena and Brendan both nodded vigorously, and started upstairs.

'Oh, and one more thing.'

They both turned their heads.

'You weren't really rushing home, were you?'

Half an hour later…

Poor Ritz had finally managed to give Tammy a bath, if not a proper one. Serena and Brendan had changed out of their dirty clothes, had showers, and were in their pyjamas. They were patiently waiting for Tammy to finish her bath so that they could look at the book. They were waiting in Serena's room.

Finally, after a few more minutes, their younger sister finally came into the room, looking very excited.

'Well, that took a while,' said Brendan. 'Are you two ready?'

'Yeah, why wouldn't we be,' asked Serena rhetorically.

'Never mind.'

'Oh, come on, open the book!' whined Tammy. 'I wanna see the pictures!'

'Oh, yeah, the book.' Brendan reached for the book below his sister's bed, placed it in his lap, and opened it.'

'What's it say?' asked Serena.

'You tell me,' said Brendan. 'You're the older one.'

'Yeah but that doesn't mean I can read Ancient Egyptian, or whatever this is.'

'Look at the pictures!' said Tammy, pointing at the drawings.

Brendan frowned. The first image was obviously that of a human being, if not in the present day, but the others were unknown to him.

'I like this one!' squealed Tammy, pointing to what looked like a small, furry creature with bat-like wings, a shirt, and a giant pompom sticking out of its head. This, of course, was a Moogle.

'Hey you two,' said Serena, 'is it just me, or does this look a woman with rabbit ears?' She indicated the strange creature she had been referring to which, as we all know, is a Viera.

'Never mind those two,' scoffed Brendan. 'Check out the overgrown lizard.' He pointed to the individual which we, the readers and writers, know as a Bangaa.

'And what about this thing,' asked Serena, pointing to the last image. 'Doesn't it remind you of a sheep?' The image was, of course, a nu mou

'Dunno,' answered Brendan. 'You two, check out the symbols. They must really be ancient!'

'Tammy, Serena, Brendan! Dinner time!' They heard footsteps approaching. Brendan quickly slammed the book shut and shoved it back under the bed.

Well, it wouldn't have mattered if he'd just left it on top of the bed. There was loads of junk in Serena's room; old skateboards, wheels from them, and a load of old toys and balls. It was such a mess, that it would be paradise for a rat! Surely a single book would not look out of place.

They hopped off the bed, and left the room.

Unbeknownst to them, a small glow had emitted from the book below the bed…

----

To most people, Nu mou do not look like sheep. But to me, they do. Please review!


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